Lacklustre United fall as City triumph

A lethargic Manchester United lost 1-0 at lowly Wigan Athletic to open the door for Manchester City to cut their Premier League lead to five points with a thumping 4- 0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.

Carlos Tevez scored on his first start for City since September in a 4-0 win as the title race took a surprise twist with five matches remaining.

United were undone by Shaun Maloney’s superb curling effort early in the second half of a match where refereeing decisions went against both sides.

City took an early lead through top scorer Sergio Aguero with a low shot to the bottom corner of the net and he doubled their tally after the break when he finished off Samir Nasri’s pass. Fellow Argentine Tevez scored soon after with a streaky effort.

Tevez had not begun a City match since refusing to warm up as a substitute at a Champions League match in September.

David Silva, off the boil in recent weeks, rediscovered his mojo to score a fourth as City celebrated news of United’s loss. Meanwhile, Arsenal strengthened their hold on third spot and an automatic Champions League berth with a 3-0 win at 10-man Wolverhampton.

Dortmund edge Bayernberlin: League leaders Borussia Dortmund took a huge step towards retaining the Bundes-liga title with a 1-0 victory over main rivals Bayern Munich. Robert Lewandowski scored in the 77th minute and keeper Roman Weidenfeller saved an Arjen Robben penalty to leave Dortmund six points clear.

Ronaldo gives Real four-point breather

A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick fired Real Madrid to a 4-1 derby win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday to restore their four-point cushion on Barcelona at the top of the Primera Liga.

Ronaldo opened after 25 minutes with Gustavo Falcao getting the equaliser for Atletico after 55 minutes before the Portuguese star wrapped up his hat-trick to make it 40 league goals for the season, one more than Lionel Messi. Jose Callejon got the other goal for La Liga leaders.Barcelona had moved to within a point of Real Madrid on Tuesday after a 4-0 win over Getafe, with six games now remaining including a meeting between the top two in a much-awaited El Clasico on April 21.

“After Barca’s win yesterday there was a bit of pressure, but we’re happy with that and we have to look to win the rest of our games,” said Ronaldo.